Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on Tuesday announced that his office will be conducting a “real-time” audit of the Harrisburg School District — a first of its kind.
“We’ve never done anything like this before,” DePasquale said.
The audit, which will see results released periodically as it’s conducted, comes amid ongoing financial and academic underperformance in the district, which could soon be taken over by the state.
But on Tuesday, DePasquale said he began working toward the real-time audit even before state Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera last week petitioned for the takeover.
Work toward the audit began, DePasquale said, when he learned that district officials refused to cooperate with an audit being conducted by the state Department of Education.
“The current school board and district administration have resisted the state’s efforts to help return the district to solid financial footing,” he said. “That’s why it’s become necessary for my department to take a closer look at the district and ensure the best interests of students are coming first.”
DePasquale stressed that his office has adopted the real-time approach to give updates as the audit is ongoing in an attempt to promote transparency.
Those updates, he said, likely will be given monthly or quarterly, but that could change in the case of a significant finding.
DePasquale was reluctant to put a timeline on his audit, saying only that it will take as long as necessary.
DePasquale’s audit will begin as soon as the ongoing Department of Education audit is complete to ensure that district officials implement recommendations, he said. That should be at some point this summer, he said.
“The goal for myself is to do everything we can to make recommendations that will help the students and the taxpayers of Harrisburg move forward,” he said. “The education of these young people is too critical.”
The audit is mainly set up to look at the district’s finances, DePasquale said.
Harrisburg School District spokeswoman Kirsten Keys was present when DePasquale made the announcement, but she would not comment. She said a statement would soon be issued by district solicitor James Ellison.
About 4:21 p.m., district officials issued a statement, which read: “Harrisburg School District officials and School Board of Directors stand ready to cooperate with the Auditor General’s ‘real-time’ audit. We remain committed to transparency, the process of financial and academic recovery and a continued effort to put students first.”
School board member Carrie Fowler, who also was present for the announcement, said she was pleased with DePasquale’s decision and believes the real-time nature of the audit will provide needed transparency of the goings on in the district.
“I absolutely think it’s necessary,” she said. “I’m just grateful that someone is stepping up and holding this administration and some of the board members accountable.”
DePasquale’s announcement came only eight days after officials at the State Department of Education filed a petition with the Court of Common Pleas to take control of the Harrisburg School District by forcing it into receivership.
A court hearing on receivership is scheduled to begin June 17, and a decision on the state’s petition could be made by the end of the month.
If a ruling is made in favor of the state, a receiver would be appointed to essentially act as the district’s chief executive, wresting most decision-making power from members of the elected school board.
The state’s petition comes amid an ongoing period of educational and financial underperformance in the district. The district has been operating under state-imposed financial recovery status since 2012.
A 2015 audit of the district by the Auditor General’s Office revealed excessive debt, declining tax revenues and an increase in payments to charter schools.
“Students should not have to worry about whether the adults in charge of their education are acting in their best interest,” DePasquale said. “It has become increasingly obvious to me that more needs to be done to improve the education ... to help the district move forward.”
DePasquale last week applauded the state’s petition for receivership. His office issued a June 3 news release, saying that it’s "very clear that dysfunction within the Harrisburg School District must end because the district’s students and taxpayers deserve better.”
On Tuesday, DePasquale said he’s opposed receivership in the past and called it “the absolute last resort.” Still, he said, he is in favor of the Harrisburg takeover.
DePasquale also took time in his announcement to address members of the Harrisburg School Board, many of whom lost bids for re-election in this year’s municipal primary.
“I also want the outgoing school board to understand that although their remaining time in office is limited, the district’s students and taxpayers expect nothing less than total transparency and accountability and for them to do their job to the best of their ability until their term is up,” DePasquale said.